Beyond The Limits - A Woman's Triumph on Everest
Written: Dec 02 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Stamina, determination and dedication to ones goals
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: Good role model and outline for life's goals and trials
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| susidee34's Full Review: Suggest Products |
In 1988, Stacy Allison, 23, stood on the summit of Everest. The first American woman ever to summit Everest. Beyond The Limits, etc. is the story of how Stacy became intrigued with mountain climbing and eventually realized her dream. It is also a story of personal freedom and reality.
From a young age, 7 years old, Stacy made her first climb up, and over, the heads of her much bigger classmates, as she wiggled her way up the trunk of a large Douglas Fir. Unfortunately two things occurred at this time - 1) Stacy became frozen in place and couldn't figure out how to get down, and 2) Dad caught her. She immediately came to several conclusions. She could do the same things boys could, she had to learn how to relax and get over those tight situations she gets into, and she had to figure out how to convince her parents that she could climb anywhere. So began Stacy's arduous journey to the top of the world.
Over the years she trained with many famous climbers, including Scott Fischer, and was actually on an Everest summit attempt with him in 1987 when they were turned back by bad weather. She met her first husband through outdoor survival training camps and shared a love of climbing with him. Diminutive in size, most of her male counterparts were skeptical when they saw her approach their group, but she soon proved them wrong.
Able to carry twice her body weight in gear, Stacy generally forged ahead of the others, as they trekked the mountains they all loved. Learning to deal with ‘doubting Thomas's' had become second nature to Stacy, who discovered, through working with her first husband, a love of building and carpentry. Although the marriage didn't pan out, her ability to develop her skills surged forward and she was soon able to support herself with her woodworking.
In her book, written in conjunction with Peter Carlin, she describes the grueling training required to become a mountaineer, the painful climbs, disastrous weather but also strong friendships formed and a comradeship that is seldom discovered in other events. Facing death every day of the climb makes for fast bedfellows indeed. There is also a section of a dozen or so pages, with black and white photos of the climbs she made, and the team mates she climbed with.
However, as with most things, anytime several people are shoved together in limited space, there are bound to be disagreements and clashes of personality. For once, someone bothers to talk about these experiences as well. I guess because this climb was a successful attempt, as opposed to the other Everest books I have read, where there was so much death and disaster involved. Stacy doesn't pull any punches when she talks about the animosity between team mates, rivalry for the first place position on summit day, or garnering favor from the team leaders, etc.
In the bid to be the first woman on Everest, she was in stiff competition with fellow team mate Diana Dailey. In the end, Diana lost the bid when Stacy ended up so close to the top as the weather took a turn and the balance of the crew realized they would not summit this time. Out of a team of approximately 15 members, Stacy was the sole person to summit that year, alone except for her Sherpa. All those years of training, all that preparation, all the hoopla about the first woman from the United States to summit, and ...."Now I felt strange. I was on top of the world, but I was alone. This wasn't how I wanted it to happen. During all those years of wishing, dreaming about it, working for it, I never once imagined I'd be alone when I got to the summit"[1]....
What I found most interesting about this book in comparison to others I have read is the look at the back-biting opposition between different teams and different countries, the shady methods some used to obtain free goods and free services, or rather, the more human side of mountain climbing. It isn't all fame and glory but a lot of hard work and sometimes for naught.
This book is about survival - both emotional and physical - as Stacy leaves an abusive marriage and still manages to overcome obstacles in her life and become successful. She now has remarried and lives in Oregon with her husband and two children. Stacy runs her own construction company and travels all over the United States giving motivational talks to large corporations. Beyond The Limits: A Woman's Triumph on Everest offers much more than a simple mountain climbing book. It is a personal success story and well worth the read.
I purchased mine from Amazon.com but it is also available at Barnes & Noble, Media Play and Little Professor. ISBN 1-58151-056-X, $15.95.
Thanks,
Susi
[1] page 242, Beyond The Limits: A Woman's Triumph on Everest, chapter 10 - Nowhere Else To Climb.
p.s. This book is not listed in the database. Thanks
Recommended:
Yes
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susidee34
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Member: SusiDee
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It's easier to build a child than repair an adult
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